All-Star Small Vs Large

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syd

Jan 25, 2011
8
6
I understand at competition going against the score is not very fun, but loosing to a team with 20 more people than you isnt very awesome either! Is it fair that my team of 16-20 goes against a team of 36, even if we come very close. Large and small teams should be separated
 
Sometimes divisions are split! And there is also a push to reduce the number of athletes in large divisions. I believe 30 was voted upon and it is being finalized within the next 2 or 3 months
 
It's not all that unfair, because you're being judged on majority skills. A team of 20 with 15 standing tucks is going to score the same as a team of 36 with 27 standing tucks in standing tumbling. If your team of 20 is showing 5 stunts with the same difficulty as a team of 36 who only shows 7 stunts, you will score higher. Well, depending on execution, of course.

Quality over quantity:)
 
I agree with you Syd. I understand what Num1Stunta is saying but honestly when watching a large team of 35 vs a team of 20 or less the overall impression is almost always WOW with the large teams. If there are NO deductions I think the large teams will almost always outscore the smaller ones. Again my .02 for what it is worth.
 
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I think that from a crowd point of view - large teams have an advantage. From a judge point of view, I think that the small teams have an advantage.
 
Panthers got high point this past weekend over quite a few large teams. It's all about the percentage of people throwing things, so its definitely not impossible. I think its a very good alternative to competing against yourself.
 
IMO I don't think it matters. They judge you for what you have. I coach a small junior coed 3 team and when the Jamfest Indy sch. Came out we were only against 1 other small team so we added 1 person to the team to go large and have more competition. We won with are 21 kids against two teams of 36. The next weekend at Athletic Championships in Providence same thing happened so we kept in our 21st member and won again VS 2 large teams... They judged us for what are 21 kids could do and judged the large teams for what they could do they did not compare us to the teams with 36. It was also definitely a confidence booster for my kids to beat the large teams!!!
 
Having judged a ton of competitions, as long as the ratio is there you are good to go with the judges. Problem is, in a division like a small division where one team will have 12 and one team will have 20, you are looking at 3 stunt groups vs. 5, pyramids are more exciting from the team with 5 groups, etc. Same with a large division - with 21 people, a pyramid section from a team with 36 when they can make 4 more stunt groups will look more exciting from the crowd's point of view.
 
at a cheersport competition a small coed 5 team beat a large coed 5.....yes large teams can do more but now alot of competitions goes by ratios.....not fair but small teams can beat large ones!
 
at one competetion ( i believe it was NCA or spirit unlimtied) my small jr 3 went against a large jr 3. it definatly wasn't fair. they had 3-4 more stuntg groups, louder cheer, and their overall look was better. teams should definatly be seperated based on small or large, or the scoring isnt fair.
 
IMO the scoring is fair. If you have 20 kids and put up 5 stunts and go against a large team with 36 kids who but up 6 stunts your going to score more on quantity. Also it's easier for a small team to be sharper and cleaner. The rarely split the division for Jr. Coed 3 & and we always manage to score perfectly fine as a small team. It's all about what you have. 20 kids with a hard routine will be the 36 kids with an easier routine. It might not look as flashy but judges arnt stupid the obviously know the team with 20 kids can't put up 7 or 8 stunts and there not gonna be penalized! I used to think being the small team was a dissadvantage but learned quickly that it dosen't matter we have been against large teams all season and it has not effected us once.
 
I think sm. teams are just lrg. teams with the "fat" trimmed off..The routines tend to be "more meaty" meaning they dont have a lot of frills...its just solid skills...As with large teams theres always those few who arent as sharp as the rest..obvi this isnt all lrg teams but you know what I mean...I however think that lrg teams excel in the showy/illusion side of cheer with a lot of "motion" like theres always something going on and Lrg teams tend to hit the pyramid harder for me due to their shear numbers (IMO)
 
I agree with Blue Cat for the most part. I will say that my girls have been on a small team for a few years (well, my older one is on a large team again this year...) and they have done well against large teams, coed teams, etc. I think if you max out what YOUR team can do and you do it well, you can win regardless. Judging on ratios is becoming better and better. So I don't think you are at a severe disadvantage being a small team against a large team if you do your routine well and max out what a small team can put out there.
 
IMO I don't think it really matters all that much because I have seen small teams beat large teams. Now I'm not talking 12 to 36 which i've also seen and was not trilled with. It was terrible, but if you have a team of 20 that goes against a team of 36 and they all have good skills and they both hit equally who will win? Will the overall appeal of the larger team win?
 
I love my team and i think we are great, but the overall appearance of a large team defiantly outweighs the appearance of a small team. We are coed5 and when we have 4 guys as a small and the division isnt separated between limited and semi-limited going against a large team with 10 guys does seem fair, even if our skills compare appearance is everything.
 
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